Best Man For The Wedding Planner

“Is something wrong?”

She closed her eyes. Not Dan. This was the last thing she needed.

Take a breath. Smile.

She turned to face him and attempted the smile. “Oh, just some last-minute wrinkles I need to sort out.”

He was frowning at her. “I get the impression it’s more than a wrinkle.”

“I can handle it.”

“I know. So you’ve told me several times. But do you need help?” He stepped forward, his eyes earnest. “Sometimes handling it means delegating. But I’m sure you know that, too.”

“The sculptures are hours early. They’ll be melted before the reception even starts.”

“A freezer in the kitchens?”

“I thought of that. But then we have to move them again...and we’re down staff members. The flu.”

“What about outside? On the balcony? It’s cold enough they’ll stay frozen. We could ask if we can have a dolly and move them all back at once when they’re needed.”

“It might work. Let me make a call.”

When she got approval to move the ice sculptures outside, Dan stepped in and helped load them onto the dolly, and then supervised delivering them to a corner of the balcony where they could come back and get them in the afternoon. Adele waited inside, where it was warm, but when he came back in, she ate a little humble pie. “Thank you, Dan. I was suddenly so overwhelmed. This is a great solution.”

“About getting them back to the room and unloaded...”

“You’ll have photos with the wedding party. Don’t worry. I’ll find someone. And if I have to, I’ll get it myself. I can lift forty pounds.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You haven’t started lifting weights, have you?”

She laughed in spite of herself and then covered her mouth. “No, though I do run quite often. Just not today. Today I’m in crisis-management mode.”

“What else has gone wrong?”

“Besides not enough staff to serve tonight? I’ve lost the string quartet. I don’t know how I’m going to break that one to Holly. She’s going to lose her mind.”

“Probably.” At her wide-mouthed expression, he shrugged. “It’s her wedding day. I’m assuming she wants everything to be perfect.”

“I don’t know if I can get a substitute at this late hour. And I still have to find three more servers somewhere. I have an idea about that, but I have to clear it with the catering office first.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? I’m off the hook until the before-wedding pictures at one.”

Was he genuinely offering to help? It seemed he was. She gazed up at him, unsure of where she stood. “Last night we didn’t exactly end things on friendly terms,” she said.

“I shouldn’t have said what I did at the end,” he admitted, his gaze never leaving hers. “About the team player thing. It was a cheap shot. You’re right. This is your job and you know what you’re doing. I let personal resentment get in the way.”

“I guess I’m glad that you’re able to admit you resent me,” she replied softly. “I prefer honesty over subtext. And I don’t blame you, Dan. I just...don’t want to fight now. It was so long ago.”

But was it, really? Clearly not if both of them were unsure of what to say or how they felt.

“The thing is, I want to keep on being angry. And I can’t. I’m just...oh, hell. I don’t know what I am. But I do know that my best friend is being married today and if his bride is unhappy, it’s not going to be good for any of us.” He smiled at her. “So, if there’s anything I can do to help you out of your pickle, let me know. Hand me your phone.”

She did, because she was too surprised to do anything else.

“There.” He handed it back. “My number’s in there. If you don’t find a replacement for the quartet by noon, message me. I might have something up my sleeve.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, looking down at the phone and back up. “That’s...kind of you.”

He took a step back. “I might still be a bit angry with you, but it doesn’t mean I want you to fail, Delly.”

“No one calls me that.”

“I can call you Adele if you want.”

She swallowed against a lump in her throat. “It doesn’t matter.”

“If nothing goes wrong, I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

“Or before. I’ll be taking the boutonnieres to Peter’s suite before your photos. Those are the last flowers to arrive.”

He gave her a mock salute and headed off down the hall, leaving her standing there, feeling unsure and off-balance. And only a little of that was because of her illness.

* * *

A brief discussion with the contract manager gave her the ability to bring in three additional servers, paid out of her own pocket. She called Emmeline and Jerry Richards, who owned a catering business she’d used often. They’d send three servers to the hotel by four o’clock so they could meet with the banquet staff ahead of time. Then she went to the bridal suite, where she faced a radiant and excited Holly.

“How is it? Is it all coming together?” Holly asked. “What do you think? The dress is still perfect, isn’t it?” Harper was there, snapping pictures, and despite her growing fatigue, Adele went forward and adjusted the zipper and hook at the back of the dress.

“It’s lovely. And it is all coming together, with one hitch.”

Holly’s face fell. “Oh, no. Is it bad?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle, but it’s big enough you need to be aware. Your string quartet has backed out. Half of them are down with the flu.” And apparently not as amenable to working while sick as she was.

“But...that’s all the music!” Her voice raised with panic. “That’s what I’m supposed to walk up the aisle to!”

“I know,” Adele said, feeling a little panic herself but keeping calm for the sake of the bride’s sanity. “I’ve got calls in to a few replacement ensembles that I’ve worked with before. I’m hopeful, because January isn’t a busy wedding month. We might be lucky.”

“And if we’re not?”

Adele reached out and took her hand. “I have never let a bride down yet, and you won’t be the first.”

“Okay.” Holly let out a breath. “I’m going to trust you with this, Adele. Please, please make it work.”

“Everything else is ready, and your flowers should be on their way up in the next thirty minutes. The weather is perfect, too, so don’t fret.” She sent a reassuring smile. “I’ve pulled off miracles before.”

She left the suite and rested against the wall after the door was shut. Keeping a bright face had been a big chore. She needed to take another dose of pills soon; the fever and chills were worsening, and her whole body ached.

Her phone dinged with a text message—the quartet she’d used before was already booked for this evening. That only left one option. If they weren’t available...

She grabbed a bottle of water, but then stopped and got a bowl of soup to get her through the day. The warm broth helped her throat, which was feeling a bit raw, and revived her a bit. Until she got the final refusal. They were two and a half hours from wedding time and had no music. Holly was not the sort of bride who would want a recording played for her walk down the aisle, either.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. She tapped in a text message to Dan, asking for his help. By the time she’d finished her soup, he’d messaged back, saying that a pianist and flautist would be there and set up by two thirty, and if guests could wait until after that to be seated, it would allow them a few minutes to warm up.

She hadn’t wanted to rely on him, but he had come through anyway. Just like he always had when they’d been together.

Her heart ached a bit thinking about it. If she’d told Dan she’d been diagnosed with cancer, he would have stood beside her. If she’d told him it had spread to her uterus and she had to have a hysterectomy, he would have held her hand and insisted it would be all right.

And then she would have had to face him every day, feeling responsible for denying him the joy of his own children. Wondering if he would grow to resent her as his siblings had children and they remained childless. If he’d regret staying with her all that time, and if he’d eventually stop loving her.

The way her dad had stopped loving her mom.

Dan was still a good man. And he had come through today, helping her out of a jam. But nothing had really changed.

Nothing at all.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.